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If each time you enter a fast food place you feel like you can’t
stop eating, it may be good for you to know you’re not the only
one. There are certain foods that make people eat compulsively.
Among the foods that cause this effect are those that combine
fat, salt, and sugar. This is explained by Dr. David Kessler,
author of “The End of Overeating,” who dedicated to study those who
eat compulsively, in order to explain the power of food. “Eating
foods with a high sugar, fat, and salt content lead us to crave for
more foods of this kind.
Which foods lead us to keep on eating, even after we’re
satisfied?

1. “Junk” Food:”A study led by The Scropps
Research Institute, published in Nature Neuroscience, showed that
fast foods have “addictive” properties because, as drugs, they make
it very difficult to stop eating. This happens especially with
high-calorie and high-fat foods, like bacon and sausages, for
example, with lead people to overeat.
According to this study, unlimited consumption of these
pleasure-producing foods leads to neuroadaptative responses in the
brain, which trigger compulsive eating, similar to what happens
with addictions.
Among the neuroadaptors that were analyzed is D2 receptor, a
neurotransmitter that is released by the brain with “pleasure,” as
produced by drugs, sex, and food.

2. Carbohydrates:According to the American Heart
Association, carbohydrates increase insulin levels, which lowers
blood sugar. This causes food cravings and, in some people, a
special craving for carbs, in order to obtain a quick energy
source. Insulin is a hormone used by the body to convert sugar,
starches, and other compounds into energy.
In turn, some studies have explained the connection between
mind, mood, and food, due to decreased serotonin levels. According
to the experts, people with carbohydrate cravings have low levels
of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps decrease fear, anxiety,
and stress, while improving mood and relaxation.

3. Chocolate:Apparently, it has the same effects
of junk food. In his book, “The Seduction of Food,” Dr. Neal
Barnard explains that chocolate stimulates the same part of the
brain as drugs. In addition, chocolate has certain ingredients that
stimulate the nervous system, like caffeine, theobromine—which is
extracted from cocoa and is also used in certain medicines—and
phenylethylamine, an aromatic amine, similar to amphetamines.

4. Cheese:It has an ingredient that is also found
in chocolate: phenylethylamine. Doctors Donald F. Klein and Michael
Lebowitz, from the Psychiatric Institute of New York, attribute
love feelings to phenylethylamine, explaining that people who are
in love have large amounts of this component in their brains.
Moreover, a study by Wellcome Laboratories found that cow milk,
used to make cheese, has morphine in small amounts, but not in all
cases (depending on the animal’s diet) and casein, which could
cause addition to this food.

Not everyone feels the same attraction toward the same
dishes. Even among those who recognize eating compulsively all the
time, there are those who prefer salty foods and those who rather
sweets.
However, knowing the foods that may lead to addiction or
binge eating can be helpful, because if you already know it may be
difficult to stop, it is more likely you’ll look for an alternative
that won’t cause this effect. Have you ever seen someone eat
tomatoes or lettuce without being able to stop?